GHC Online provides you the opportunity to complete some of your first two years or "core" curriculum of your collegiate career in an online environment.

You will find that you have an opportunity for increased flexibility and convenience in course scheduling. The curriculum consists of freshman and sophomore level courses that are designed, developed, taught and supported by faculty and staff from Georgia Highlands College. The courses are offered in English, mathematics, science, history, and the social sciences.

Students who have taken GHC Online courses before say that their biggest piece of advice is to log in to the class just about every day. Often, this means that you are just spending a brief time checking announcements, private mails, responding to discussion postings, and making sure you don't have anything due. Doing this will make you feel more connected to the course and not so overwhelmed because you're doing a little each day rather than playing catch-up. Of course, you do need to set aside some larger chunks of time a couple or more times each week to do some serious reading and completion of assignments and quizzes.

GHC Online may require a lot of reading

Because the courses are online, you can expect to do a good bit of reading. Instead of hearing lectures, you may be required to learn information from reading materials in your textbook and online. If you are not the kind of person who enjoys reading, then you should consider that this may not be the best type of course for you. You will also spend time reading what other students write in the course. Instead of having oral class discussions, you will have written ones through the class discussion board.

Potential Challenges of GHC Online

Online learning is not for everyone. Some students find it difficult to manage their time and effort without the regular face-to-face contact of the traditional classroom. Others feel that they learn better by hearing lectures than by reading. Some are unprepared for the amount of writing required by online assignments and discussions. In addition you must have basic computer skills and a computer with Internet access.

Proctored tests may represent a large portion of your grade

In most GHC Online courses, there will be times when you will take a proctored test (usually the midterm and the final). The amount these count vary by the course and the instructor, but they tend to count a significant amount. In other words, you need to take these seriously because you can't afford to do poorly on them. Plan to start studying several days in advance.

How to find help

If there is anything you don't understand about your instructor's expectations or the course content, contact your instructor using the course website or the private mail feature in the course. If you have technical problems, you will want to contact the Online Support Center at http://help.view.usg.edu

It is important to stay current in your GHC Online course

If you are the kind of person who tends to put off doing things until the very last minute, GHC Online probably is not for you. Most GHC Online procrastinators find that waiting to complete assignments leads to sometimes forgetting about them or having last-minute technical problems and ending up with a grade of zero! In fact, you should plan to logon to your GHC Online course the very first day. Also, try to be among the very first people to post a discussion response rather than the last. You will find that staying ahead of your assignments will impress your instructor, make you feel confident, and dramatically increase your chances of success in this type of learning environment.